Scarecrow
by Giraffedancer13
Summary: After Fiyero was left in the cornfield to die, how did he make it back to his beloved Wicked Witch? Fiyero's story, told through his point of view.


**Notes: **This is my first fanfic to ever post, so please be kind and tell me what I did wrong!

_Scarecrow_

Fiyero began to feel his mind lapse away from him. All his thoughts felt slippery, and holding on to them took tremendous effort. The world was becoming less and less real to him. All there was left was the sun baking his skin, and the blade that punctured his back. He could feel the blood dripping down his skin, but he didn't dare look down at the puddle of red that he knew was forming on the ground below him. His thoughts turned to Elphaba. Had she gotten away? That was the only way that he could bear it, if he could know that she was safe. That was the only way that he could die.

And dying he most definitely was. He was becoming dizzy from loss of blood. The putrid odor of sweat mixed with blood was starting to sicken him as well. He knew he wouldn't last much longer. He tried to think of that night, seemingly forever ago. That perfect night when he was with Elphaba. He wished she could be here now.

"_Fiyero!" _

He shook his head and started weeping. What he would give to hear her voice again!

"_Eleka nahmen nahmen ah tum ah tum eleka nahmen . . . "_

He tasted salt in his mouth. He couldn't tell if it was tears, sweat, or blood. Slowly, silently, he began to let go of reality, and slip down into darkness. Sweet, forgiving darkness, where there was no more of this agony.

"_Let him never die! Let him never die!"_

Suddenly, pain seared through his body. An awful cry of pain escaped him, as his body shook with spasms. His insides felt like they were melting, bubbling, boiling. It felt more like his eyes were being dissolved and running down his face than tears. He coughed up blood into his mouth, and let it run like a waterfall down his chin.

He was being smashed into millions of pieces. His bones were on fire, and then they were crumbling into splinters. He stretched out his body and a horrid sound of anguish exploded out of his lungs. It didn't end until he could no longer breathe or feel, and he lay limp. Hung near death on his crucifix in a corn field.

------------------------

Groggily, Fiyero awoke. He looked out over the endless field of corn, split in the middle by the shining, gold brick road. The fat red sun lay on the horizon in front of him, holding on the world for a moment more before it had to sink below.

How had he survived? There was no way anyone who had lost that much blood could possibly be alive afterwards to see the dry, caked puddle of it below them. And no one could have outlived that anguish. But all of the pain was gone now. In fact, he could hardly feel anything at all.

Cawing wretchedly, a filthy black crow flew into his sight and landed on his head. It peered over the rim of his hat and cocked its head, its black dots of eyes staring inquisitively at him.

"Shoo," he said absentmindedly as he brushed it away with his hand. It cawed again and flew off in the direction of the setting sun.

Fiyero didn't even notice that the bird had left. He was staring at his hand. It was covered in thick canvas that was tied around his wrist with rope. That was strange. He hadn't been wearing any gloves. Or a hat for that matter. Bits of straw were poking out of his sleeve. He pulled it out and dropped it on the ground. There was more underneath. He yanked that out too. Still, straw underneath his shirt. Hastily, he strained his neck to look behind him at the spears supporting him. The blade was still lodged in his back! He couldn't feel it at all. He snatched at the blade, but it wouldn't budge.

Tentatively, he reached up and felt his face. Stiff burlap. Thick yarn stitches. Straw. Straw and straw and straw. Poking out of shoes, clothes, hat, neck even. Every time he moved, the ground was littered with more and more of it.

Slowly, he let his arms drop to his sides. It was true then. He had really died, in a way. Gone was the stunningly handsome prince, and in its place was this rag doll.

He wanted to cry, but no tears came to his cloth eyes. Scarecrows can't cry.

------------------------

Elphaba. She'd done it. She really had gotten away. And in an attempt to save his life, she had transformed him into this. That was the only way.

He felt so thankful that she was safe. And yet, if she wasn't, then he would have died too, and they would have joined each other in death, even though Fiyero didn't usually believe in such things. He was willing to believe in anything now though.

At the present moment a huge flock of crows was perched on top of him. They were astounded by the moving scarecrow. Every time he would shake them off, they would return, all the more interested. Eventually he just let them stay. They were the only company he had.

After a time though, they were startled away again as Fiyero turned his head in the direction of the road. A singing voice was floating above the corn toward him. It was a soft and lovely voice, and it warmed him a little. It sounded like it was singing a nursery rhyme.

He squinted at the approaching figure, who he could now see was a little girl, no more than eight or nine years old. She held a small, black dog under one arm, with the other arm swinging at her side. Her feet skipping on the yellow bricks were clad in magnificent jeweled shoes. They didn't match her plain blue and white pinafore dress at all.

This must be the farm girl from the other world, the one who had been in the house that had destroyed Nessa. The idiot munchkins had probably given her the shoes as a gift, but had really been frightened of the magical properties that Elphaba had placed on them. He knew that they would have been happy to get rid of them as soon as possible.

The girl sighted him and stopped to stare up at him. She looked down at her dog, who was peering at a line of ants on the ground at the moment. Her eyebrows furrowed in thought. Eventually though, she reached a conclusion.

"Are you alive?" she asked frankly.

Fiyero couldn't help it. He laughed out loud. She grinned. "I wasn't sure. I just saw that weird things happened here, and I saw you, and thought 'Maybe he's alive,' and just to make sure I wasn't being rude and ignoring someone without knowing it, I just had to check."

Fiyero tried not to smile, and failed. This little girl was so innocent, so unknowing of how strange a state he was in, even in Oz, that he couldn't look upset.

"So what's your name," she said brightly.

Fiyero glanced down at her. "Fi- well, actually I'm not sure."

"Don't you know? Or can't you make up your mind," she asked, puzzled.

"Of course not. I'm brainless," he said, referring back to the term he had used back in school. Brainless, self-centered Fiyero.

"Really?" she asked.

Fiyero almost laughed again. This little girl was taking him seriously! He was beginning to grow very fond of her.

"Nope, no brain," he said, trying to sound lighthearted. "Only straw."

"Well Mr. Scarecrow, I'm going to see the Wizard of Oz so I can get back home," she chirped. "I've heard that he can do some amazing things, so would you like to come with me?" She smiled. "Maybe he can give you a brain!"

Fiyero's eyes grew wide. He wanted nothing less than to go back to the Emerald City, where so many awful things had happened. And to actually see the Wizard, why that was unthinkable. He had betrayed the Wizard when he had let Elphaba escape and turned on his own guards. The punishment for those crimes would be unimaginable. The best possible outcome was that he would be shot on sight.

But then, this little girl was walking all the way to the Emerald City by herself. Did she know how dangerous the road was? Someone would have to look after her and make sure that she didn't go up and introduce herself to every inanimate object along the path. She would never get there that way.

Well, he would have to help her, even at the risk that the Wizard would know who he was. "Sounds great, I'd be glad to come. Just let me get . . . " He tried to twist around and unhook himself, to no avail.

"Here, let me help." The little girl walked around to do it for him. "I'm Dorothy by the way, and my dog is Toto." She gritted her teeth as she tried to shift the blade in his back. "Jeesh, this won't budge! Doesn't it hurt?"

Fiyero sighed and stared at his cloth hands. "No, I don't feel it at all. I really don't feel any-" He was cut off when the spear was suddenly out from under him and he plummeted to the ground. Straw arced up into the air and spiraled slowly down.

"Are you ok?" Dorothy asked anxiously. She bent down to help him up.

Fiyero waved her off. "I'm fine," but when he tried to stand, his stuffed legs shook and wouldn't support him. He held onto Dorothy's arm and let her pull him up, and had to lean on her even after he was standing.

"Come on Toto!" The dog jumped into her arm that wasn't supporting Fiyero. She looked up and smiled again at him. Fiyero looked down at her freckled nose and smiling, blue eyes. She was so trusting, so accepting of him. Fiyero couldn't have hoped for a better person to meet after becoming a straw filled oddity.

------------------------

Dorothy was singing again. Fiyero was having to work hard to keep up with her. It was as if he didn't have control over his body anymore. He stumbled every few steps, but each time Dorothy was there to catch him. She was so patient with his incompetence. He felt himself humming along with her song.

Up ahead was an orchard filled with giant apple trees weighed down with red fruit. Fiyero knew that by now Dorothy would be starving from the long walk, though he wasn't hungry at all. He asked her to wait for him by the road, and went off to pick some of the apples for her, since she was obviously too short to reach the branches.

However, after he had only chosen a few, he heard a sharp scream off to his left. He immediately dropped the apples and ran off toward it, cursing his body every time he tripped.

He found Dorothy crouched down with her arms over her head beyond another orchard, which he recognized as the orchard of Fighting Trees. It wasn't hard to miss. It was the only orchard where the trees yelled and threw their apples, like they were doing to Dorothy now. Fiyero ran over to help her.

Her tear streaked face looked up at him. "I was just trying to help! I'm sorry!" She pressed her face into his chest and started crying. He held her awkwardly, not quite sure what to do.

He heard rough, barking laughter behind him. He turned around to see the trees guffawing at him.

"Well, that's one I've never seen! Walking scarecrows! What's Oz coming to these days?" said one in between cackles.

"Walking cans maybe, but not scarecrows," put in another one. Their branches bent down to the grass in a manner of falling on the ground laughing.

Fiyero grimaced at the remarks, but managed to shove them in the back of his mind for the moment. "What do you mean, walking cans?" he asked the trees.

"What, Tin Can?" said one as he mimed wiping a tear away from his knothole eye. "He's over there, and has been for weeks. Won't move!" He collapsed into laughter again.

Fiyero took hold of Dorothy's hand and walked in the direction the tree had motioned to. Something was there, definitely, but it was reflecting the sunlight and he couldn't look at it for more than a second. When they reached it, he saw that it was indeed a person made out of tin. A Tinman. He was frozen, rusted solid, holding an ax in the air as if about to chop down the half-felled tree in front of him. It was a rather menacing sight.

Dorothy had already run over to him and was standing on tiptoe to try and reach his face. Fiyero walked over to and heard a squeaking sound coming from the Tinman. He couldn't understand what he had said at all, but Dorothy seemed to grasp it, and quickly picked up a can of oil that was lying on the ground nearby. She pumped it quickly around his mouth so that he could talk. If he could talk.

Eventually, he managed to move his metal jaw around a little and gave a long sigh of relief. "Oh my god. Thank you, thank you," he said bitterly. "That's so much better. You don't know how long I've been standing here."

Dorothy hurried to oil the rest of his body. "Well, now you're fine. You're perfect now!"

The Tinman huffed. "Perfect, eh? You really think that?" He looked ahead gloomily. Dorothy nodded cheerfully.

"Bang on my chest if you think I'm perfect," he replied dismally.

Slightly confused, Dorothy tapped her finger on his metal chest. It gave a loud clank and the Tinman sighed woefully.

Dorothy shrugged. "What's wrong?"

"It's empty," said the Tinman. "I haven't got a heart."

Dorothy gave a soft gasp and covered her mouth with her hand. The Tinman sighed yet again and looked off into the sky mournfully. For someone without a heart, he certainly is very emotional, thought Fiyero.

Dorothy finished pouring oil over the metal man and he sat down on the stump of an old tree. Dorothy sat down cross-legged in front of him, and since she had been supporting him, Fiyero sprawled down next to her.

The Tinman was still staring off into space with a pitiful expression on his metallic face. He didn't seem to notice that Fiyero and Dorothy were still there. Fiyero wondered for a moment if he had rusted again (though he had no reason to), but then he sighed loudly again. Fiyero was beginning to find it very annoying.

Finally, he looked down at Dorothy, who was sitting patiently right in front of him. "Why are you still here?" he asked uncomfortably.

Dorothy shrugged again. "You just seem like you need someone to talk to."

"I appreciate the sentiment, but there's nothing you can do. No one can help me."

Dorothy, however, would not let him brush her off yet. "We're going to see the Wizard of Oz though, and maybe he can help you!"

The Tinman perked up at this. "You mean, the actual Wizard? In the Emerald City?"

Dorothy nodded, pleased at getting him to do something other than sigh.

He raised an eyebrow. "And you think he could give me a heart?" he said uncertainly.

Dorothy nodded again. "Oh, most definitely!" _Why, she hasn't even ever met the Wizard_, thought Fiyero. _She has so much trust in him. She doesn't even know how much of a phony he is._

"Well, even if he can't, Glinda the good of the north is sure to be there!" said the Tinman excitedly.

"Oh, I know her!" said Dorothy cheerfully. "I met her in Munchkinland!"

The Tinman's eyes grew wide. "Glinda was in . . . never mind. But, if you know her, then you'll know that even if the Wizard can't give me a heart, she certainly has enough power to!"

Fiyero stifled a laugh. Anyone in their right mind knew that Glinda didn't have a drop of magical blood in her. This being was very stupid indeed if he believed her little tricks.

Dorothy was delighted however. "So you'll come with us?" she asked ecstatically.

The Tinman was about to answer when a bitter laugh sounded overhead. The Tinman looked up into the limbs of the tree beside him and squealed loudly, falling off the stump with a deafening clang. A green face poked out of the branches and looked down at the trio.

_Elphie!_ Fiyero's heart leapt at the sight of her. She was still as lovely as ever, her ivy colored skin shining in the light of the sun, and her dark black eyebrows were knit together in that constant expression of thought that he loved so much. She looked like a forest elf. Her pointed hat slid down over her left ear, drawing the eye to her long, delicate neck. One hand clutched a tree branch to help her balance on her hovering broomstick.

Fiyero stood up, but she wasn't looking at him. She was glaring intently at Dorothy, who was quivering behind Fiyero's back.

Elphaba eyed the Tinman who was still on the ground, whining pathetically as he looked up at her. She chuckled at him. "Long time no see, eh?" He whimpered loudly.

Elphaba turned her attention back to Dorothy. "Well, my pretty little girl, I see you still haven't returned my property. Give me those shoes!" she shrieked as she pointed at the jeweled slippers.

The Tinman caught sight of the shoes and jumped up like he was on fire. He scrambled away from Dorothy, stuttering uncontrollably as he stared at her feet.

"Ah yes, you would recognize those wouldn't you Tinman?" Elphaba murmured to him.

The Tinman looked defiantly up at her, though he was still shaking and making a lot of noise. "Leave us alone, witch!" he snarled.

Elphaba smiled down at them angrily. "I will get those shoes," she said to the Tinman and Fiyero, "and there's nothing you two freaks can do about it. Just stay out of this. Don't try to protect her! I'll gladly make a beehive out of you," she glared at the Tinman, who collapsed into a clanking heap again.

"And you," she turned to Fiyero. "I'll stuff a mattress with you!" Fiyero wavered, taken aback. What was she talking about? She wouldn't ever to that, no matter how much she hated Dorothy. What was going on?

"Hey Scarecrow, want to play ball?" She held out her hand and a globe of fire instantly appeared, which she flung at Fiyero.

Dorothy screamed as it caught Fiyero's arm on fire. He couldn't feel it, but he knew that in less than a few seconds he might be nothing but a pile ash. Dorothy batted at the flame with her skirt, while Fiyero stared dumbfounded up at Elphaba.

Elphaba laughed again, and it was almost a cackle. "Make no mistake. I'll get you my pretty."

Toto growled.

"And your little dog too!" she screeched as her broom rocketed away.

------------------------

Fiyero stared at the black, charcoal rimmed hole in his shirt. Bits of burnt straw poked out of it, and he pulled them out. He knew it didn't make a difference, but it didn't feel good to have burnt things inside of him.

What in Oz had just happened though?

Elphaba, his wonderful Elphaba, had just tried to destroy him! One thing was obvious, she had not recognized him. She had even called him "Scarecrow." But she was the one who must have changed him into this! So how could she not know who he was?

The Tinman was weeping loudly over by a tree, but every time Dorothy tried to walk over and comfort him, he would scuttle away while mumbling something about "those shoes." Soon enough, Dorothy tired of this game and sat down patiently to wait for the Tinman to come to her.

Eventually, the Tinman stopped blubbering and cautiously walked over to Dorothy. "You're not going to leave, are you?"

Dorothy shook her head. "I just have a feeling that you're supposed to come with us."

The Tinman sighed. "I do suppose that the Emerald City is the only safe place left. And," he said, trying to puff out his chest bravely, but failing because he couldn't move where he had no hinges, "Since the Wicked Witch is after you, you'll be needing someone to protect you!"

Fiyero rolled his eyes, but didn't say anything.

The Tinman walked squeakily over to Dorothy to help her up. "I guess it's just my duty to make sure you arrive at the Emerald City safely, if you're going all by yourself."

_Um, hello?_ Thought Fiyero. _I'm not completely useless_.

He waited for Dorothy to offer her arm for him to help him stand up, as the Tinman seemed to have no intention of acknowledging his existence.

Once he was up, Dorothy smiled at them both again, and they started down the road.

------------------------

After they had been walking for rather some time, Dorothy looked up at the Tinman with her open, thoughtful face. "So, why do you want to see Glinda so badly?"

Fiyero could have sworn that the Tinman blushed, though it was quite impossible to tell. "Actually, I don't know if she would remember me," he admitted. "But I still would do anything to see her again. I love her, you see."

Fiyero chuckled. Millions of people claimed to love Glinda, but she rarely had even seen any of them.

A tear leaked out of the Tinman's eye. "She doesn't love me though, I'm afraid. Last I heard, she was getting married."

And had been waiting to set the date for about three years, thought Fiyero. He hadn't wanted to marry Glinda, so he had continuously stalled to make it happen later and later. He had known even then, subconsciously, that he loved Elphaba, not Glinda.

"She's getting married? Why, that's wonderful!" exclaimed Dorothy.

"No, it's not," said the Tinman. "She's getting married to some idiot I went to school with."

Fiyero stopped in his tracks. Dorothy and the Tinman stopped to stare at him, puzzled.

He gazed at the Tinman. Oh my god, he thought. I didn't recognize him at all. But, it was clearly him. He had the same pathetic expression, pouting mouth, watery eyes. It was that annoying little munchkin who'd had a crush on Glinda back at Shiz.

Fiyero smiled down at Dorothy. "I'm sure you're hungry. I saw some nice strawberry bushes back behind us. Why don't you go get some? The Tinman and I will wait here, since we don't eat."

Dorothy nodded, still a little confused. Nevertheless, she beamed up at him warmly and started down the road behind them.

Fiyero turned to the Tinman, who stared back at him with a perplexed expression on his face. "What do you want?" he asked irritably.

"Hello Boq," Fiyero stated frankly.

Boq stepped back from Fiyero. "B-b-but how . . ." he stuttered. "How do you . . . who are you?!"

Fiyero shrugged. "Just some idiot you went to school with."

Boq's eyes grew as wide as coins. "Fiyero?" he asked softly, afraid.

Fiyero nodded. Boq took another step back and shook his head.

"That's not possible. I mean, what happened to you?!" he said motioning to Fiyero's body.

"What do you mean what happened to me, what happened to you? Last time I saw you, I don't think you were made of tin."

Boq inhaled deeply. "I think I'd better sit down." Fiyero helped him onto a nearby rock, but continued standing, facing Boq with his arms crossed.

"It's all Elphaba's fault," he said, restrained. This was evidently very difficult for him to talk about. "She did this to me. She showed up at Nessa's house, where I was being forced to work, and she had a book. She did something bizarre to Nessa's shoes, and then Nessa could walk! It was amazing. Anyway, I wanted to leave and go to the Emerald City to see Glinda, so Nessa got angry, I'd never seen her so mad, and grabbed the book out of Elphaba's hands. She starting reading it, but she was doing something wrong, I think, and I felt this awful pain in my chest. I thought for sure I was going to die, and I passed out. When I woke up, Elphaba was gone, and I was . . . this." He looked at his shiny hands. "I left Munchkinland that day."

"Well," said Fiyero. "It's not that bad."

Boq laughed sadly. "Really, you think that?"

"You're much taller," he pointed out.

Boq laughed unfeelingly again.

"And," Fiyero said. "It sounds a lot like Elphaba saved your life."

Boq stopped laughing. "How could you say that? She didn't save my life, she ended it! I still haven't gotten over it. I've only been like this for a few years!" he said standing up, enraged.

Fiyero shrugged again. "And I've only been like this for a day."

"Oh really," said Boq, standing eye to eye with Fiyero. _Wow_, thought Fiyero, _he really did get taller_. "And how in Oz did you get like this?"

Fiyero's gaze dropped. "Well, I'm not really sure . . ."

Boq gave a sharp laugh and stared at Fiyero, an insane smile spreading across his face. "Elphaba did it to you too!" Tears streamed down his cheeks as he guffawed. "And I'm sure she was saving your life as well! Don't you wish now that she would've just left you to die?!"

Fiyero faltered. "Of course not!" he said angrily. "How could you say something like that? We both owe her our lives!"

Boq clutched his side, making a loud clank. "I'm sure that she meant to save you. That's why she greeted you so nicely just now!" He was still crying from laughing so hard.

Abruptly, Boq stopped laughing. He wiped away a tear, but his expression didn't change. He started clawing at his face, and Fiyero understood: his tears had rusted his sad smile right on.

Now Fiyero laughed. Boq's eyes rolled around in his sockets as he tried to communicate his panic. "Oh, I know," said Fiyero. Boq pointed at his face and made a strange gurgling noise in his throat. Fiyero shrugged and laughed again. "There's nothing I can do. Dorothy has your little can of oil. You'll just have to wait."

Boq sat back down on the rock and put his chin in his hands. It was actually terrifying, how his face wouldn't move from that awful smile, but Fiyero liked it better than the talking Boq.

Soon enough, Fiyero and Boq heard Dorothy's singing. They looked up to see her skipping down the road holding a basket filled with ripe, juicy strawberries. She had already eaten some, and they had stained her lips bright red. Toto trotted beside her. His teeth also had a red tint from the strawberries she had most likely fed him.

She spotted Fiyero and Boq and ran up to them. She looked in concern at Boq who gazed up at her piteously with his wide, unblinking eyes. "Oh dear, he's rusted himself again." She pulled the oil can out of her basket and set to work on him.

Boq rubbed his jaw when he could finally move. He turned to glower at Fiyero, but Dorothy had gone to stand by him. Her smiling face melted the heart he didn't have, and he unconsciously returned the smile. She held out her arm to him and Boq stepped in beside her.

Radiating love, she led the two down the yellow brick road once more.

------------------------

Fiyero and Boq kept glancing to their left. They had entered the Macabril Forest, located directly next to Shiz University. They knew that just behind those trees was the school where they had met Elphaba and Glinda. That was where all of this mess had started, back when they were young.

Dorothy was shaking as she looked up at the tall, menacing trees. The sun had set a while ago, and they could hardly see anything. If they didn't get out of the forest soon, they would have to let Dorothy sleep there for the night, and it was obvious that she wouldn't be able to. She was terrified.

"Do you think we'll meet any wild animals?" she asked in a wavering voice.

"Possibly," answered Boq as he looked ahead dully.

_Real smooth_, thought Fiyero. _Now she's terrified_.

Of course, Boq had nothing to be afraid of. He couldn't die anymore, and neither could Fiyero, actually. Unless, that was . . .

"Not anything that eats straw?" he asked, now slightly worried.

"I don't think so," said Boq. Fiyero exhaled a sigh of relief. "I believe there are mostly lions and tigers and bears," Boq said, unaware of how much Dorothy was shuddering now.

"Oh my," she whispered.

Suddenly, something huge jumped out from behind a tree and roared at them. Dorothy screamed and ducked behind a tree. Boq bellowed and crumpled into a clanging pile.

The shape stepped into the light and Fiyero saw that it was a massive lion. It growled menacingly and stood up on its hind leg. _Ah_, thought Fiyero, _so it's a Lion, not a lion_.

"Get back, get back," the Lion bellowed. "This is my forest! What are you doing in here?"

Boq gaped up at the giant cat. He tried to say something, but the Lion growled again and Boq fell into hysteria once more.

The Lion leaned over to glare at Fiyero, who had fallen onto the ground with no one to hold him up. The Lion grinned, exposing his massive teeth. He was about to say something again, when Toto ran up behind him and barked loudly.

The Lion whirled around to roar at the tiny dog. Toto, his bravery diminished, dropped his tail between his legs and ran back toward the tree where Dorothy was hiding.

The Lion fell to all fours and bolted after the dog. Dorothy screamed. "Toto!" She ran over to the dog and gathered him up in her arms. The Lion stood up and growled at Dorothy and Toto, towering over them. He reached out to grab the dog, but Dorothy screamed and slapped his paw.

"Stop it!"

Amazingly, the Lion burst into tears, cradling his paw to his chest.

"How could you go scaring us all like that? We haven't done anything to you!" Dorothy frowned angrily at him. "Why, you're nothing but a coward!"

"Yes! Yes, you're right!" said the Lion. "I am a coward!" He sobbed pitifully into his paws.

Dorothy raised her eyebrows in surprise. She took a step closer to the Lion, while still keeping a safe distance between them. "Now, now, you're ok. Stop crying."

"I can't!" wailed the Lion. "I'm scared of everything. Look at the circles under my eyes, I haven't slept in weeks!"

"Have you tried counting sheep?" asked Boq, annoyed.

"I'm afraid of them!"

"Oh." Boq looked uneasily at the howling creature, whom Dorothy was now patting on the back kindly. "Well, we feel dreadfully bad for you, but we really have to leave now if we're going to make it to the Emerald City."

"Oh please don't leave!" bawled the Lion. "I can't bear to be left alone again."

Dorothy looked sympathetically at the poor creature, who had now buried his massive head into her shoulder, weeping loudly. Dorothy brushed her hand down his mane, shushing him.

"It's ok, we won't leave you," she said to him gently. "You can come with us!"

"What?!" said Fiyero and Boq together.

"He cannot come with us," said Boq in a high pitched squeak. "I'm not taking care of him!"

"Dorothy, I really don't think he can come," Fiyero said to her.

Dorothy had already made up her mind though. "He's coming. Look at him." The Lion blew his nose on his tail. "We can't just leave him! Besides, we're almost to the Emerald City. Once we get there, the Wizard can help him, and he won't be scared anymore."

The Lion snuffled. "Oh no, the Wizard wouldn't help someone like me. Anyway, I'd be too scared to ask him."

"Then I'll ask him for you. Now stop crying." Dorothy managed to detatch the Lion from her and took his paw in her hand. She held out her other to Fiyero and pulled him up beside her. Boq stood slightly behind the group, still not happy about the Lion joining them. Dorothy paid no mind to the tin man however, and pulled the group onward. Out of the dark forest and into the Emerald City.

------------------------

Fiyero blinked at the sudden light of the sun and raised a fabric hand up to his face to shield his eyes. The Lion looked around carefully, but wouldn't leave the dark shelter of the forest. Dorothy tugged him along.

"Come on, there's nothing to be afraid of."

The Lion hesitated. "I've never left that forest. I've been there since I was a cub." He shuddered. "When somebody dropped me in there and left me to die." He started crying again. "I think that's why I'm so scared of everything."

Fiyero winced. If his hunch was correct, this was the lion that he and Elphaba had "cub-naped," in a manner of speaking, from abusive captors working for the wizard, and they had set him free in Macabril Forest near to Shiz. It probably wouldn't be a good idea to reveal this to the Lion.

Boq squinted ahead. "Where'd the road go?"

Indeed, the road had disappeared. Beyond the line of trees was a field of fragrant, pink flowers. Poppies, it looked like. Their scent was very pleasant.

Dorothy shouted out in delight and pointed ahead, beyond the poppies. "Look, look! We've made it! We're at the Emerald City!"

And, as a matter of fact, Fiyero could make out, sparkling in the sunlight, the Emerald City's green skyscrapers reaching up into the sky. It's thick glass walls gave off a dazzling gleam that made Dorothy gaze in amazement at the famous city.

"Why, he must be a wonderful wizard to live in a place like that! Let's go, I want to see him as soon as possible!"

She started running through the flowers towards the magnificent jewel of a metropolis, calling for Toto to follow her. Fiyero was pulled behind her like a puppet. Boq groaned and began walking after them quickly, with the Lion towing along hesitantly.

Dorothy laughed as the pink flowers flew up around her. Once she had gotten half way through the field though, she began to slow down. Eventually, she came to a complete stop and hunched over, gasping. Fiyero bent down to see if she was ok.

"I'm fine," she gasped. "I'm just tired. Let me rest for a second." She sat down amongst the fragrant flowers. Toto barked softly and climbed into her lap.

Boq and the Lion appeared, the tin man supporting the cat and not looking very happy about it.

"Wow," rumbled the Lion. "I haven't run in a while. What's wrong with her?" He pointed at Dorothy, who was now asleep with Toto in her arms.

"Oh no." Fiyero started shaking Dorothy to try and wake her up. When Boq kneeled down to help, the Lion yawned loudly and toppled over behind them.

"Oh my god!" yelled Boq. He stood up and kicked the Lion in his side. "Come on!"

Fiyero put his face in his hands. This wasn't good.

Boq threw his ax on the ground. "Elphaba did this. She won't let us get to the Emerald City. Oh, how I hate her!" He huffed and sat down heavily.

Fiyero was thinking of something to say when Boq's eyes sparkled and he pointed off towards the green city. "Look! It's Glinda!"

Fiyero looked up to see the trademark pink bubble floating a ways off, and could see Glinda inside, wearing a gigantic, ruffled dress and waving that ridiculous wand about. She smiled down at them, and fluffy white snowflakes began to fall from the sky.

Boq grinned giddily. "Glinda's making it snow! Maybe that will help." He stared intently at the three sleeping creatures.

Fiyero chuckled to himself. Glinda wasn't making it snow, she couldn't even do anything that magically simple. The Wizard's press secretary, Madame Morrible, was standing on one of the towers of the Emerald City and had her arms in the air. He could see her lips mouthing the words of a spell. He remembered her once saying, _"Weather has always been my specialty!"_ It also seemed to be the only thing she could do at all, but she was good at it.

Boq cried out happily as Dorothy began to stir. "It worked! Oh, Glinda is amazing." He helped her to stand up.

Dorothy shook her head and leaned on Boq. "What happened? Did I just fall asleep? I didn't mean to. My, it's snowing, isn't it?" She smiled and wiped some of the flakes out of her hair.

The Lion gave a roaring yawn and stood up slowly. He whined when he saw the snow. "What is this? Is it dangerous? Can it hurt me?" He latched onto Boq's arm.

Boq scowled. "Get off me you wet mop!" He jerked his arm back. The Lion grabbed his tail and twisted it around nervously in his paws.

Dorothy stared in fascination at the Emerald City, which was now only a few seconds run away. "It's so beautiful." She took off through the snow covered flowers again, and Fiyero grabbed on to her arm at the last second so that she could drag him along.

When they had all finally reached the colossal gates of the city, Dorothy squeezed Fiyero's hand and rang the doorbell. At last, they were there.

------------------------

Fiyero kept turning around to look behind him. He was so worried that someone would recognize him.

But no, they had all been taken to be pampered and fussed over before they went to see the Wizard. He and Boq sat uncomfortably while the young men shined, stuffed, oiled, and stitched them up. Dorothy and the Lion seemed to be the only ones enjoying themselves. It was probably the only time Dorothy had ever been able to wear something nice, so she was smiling happily as she ran her fingers through the ringlets in her hair. The giant cat had a ridiculous crimson bow on his head, and was giggling hysterically while a bunch of girls in extremely short green dresses filed his claws.

It was unnerving Fiyero, the way all of the people in the Emerald City wouldn't stop smiling. And they laughed at absolutely everything. Their smiles never reached their eyes though.

Dorothy and the Lion sat chattering on a bench, with Toto sitting on the cat's lap. They seemed to have gotten very attached to each other, the Lion and the dog. Boq and Fiyero stood a few feet away, Fiyero leaning against the green wall of a towering green skyscraper.

Every time a group of pedestrians walked by, Boq would strain his neck to see if he could find any of Glinda's pink. But there was always only the green of the people who lived in the city.

Since Fiyero was so jumpy, he was the first to notice the black dot in the sky. He shuddered when a woman nearby screamed. It was the first time that Fiyero had seen anyone in the city show any actual emotion.

She pointed at the clouds. "It's the witch!" Immediately, everyone shrieked in terror and crouched to the ground. Dorothy huddled close to the Lion.

Elphaba's flying broomstick was leaving a trail of thick, dark smoke. Her path outlined the words "Surrender Dorothy", and then she flew off into the horizon.

The green clad people slowly stood up. Dorothy was crying now.

"Who's Dorothy?" someone yelled.

"The Wizard will know!"

"Yes, the Wizard!" They all started running frantically for the Wizard's dwelling, some of the women going so fast that their enormous green hats flew off, where they were trampled by the crowd.

The guard at the Wizard's door sensibly sent all of the people away. "Everything's under control!" he yelled at the mob. "The Wizard has just heard and is very angry. You can all go home now!" They looked at him suspiciously, but eventually dwindled away until it was just Fiyero, Boq, the Lion, and Dorothy staring up at the sentry.

He scowled at them. "I already told you, everything's fine!"

"But we have to see the Wizard!" said Dorothy.

"She's Dorothy," Boq put in.

The guard raised an eyebrow. "The Witch's Dorothy?" he asked, indicating the words in the sky. Dorothy nodded frantically.

He pursed his lips under his bushy moustache and narrowed his eyes uncertainly. " Fine. I'll go ask the Wizard. Be back in a moment." He disappeared through the colossal green doors.

Dorothy stood staring at the doors for a moment, a soft smile on her face. She looked down at the ground thoughtfully. "I can't believe I'm almost going home," she whispered, as if she was frightened that saying it aloud would make it not real anymore.

Fiyero squeezed her hand. She leaned on him slightly, and Fiyero wobbled, but they were able to support each other. A tear of happiness appeared at the corner of her eye.

Boq looked suspiciously up at the blinking sign above the building. _The Wonderful Wizard of Oz._ Boq huffed. "I certainly hope he's wonderful enough."

"Of course he is," said the Lion. "It says so right there. In a few minutes, I'll be king of the forest."

Dorothy laughed and clapped while the Lion beamed.

Boq scowled at the cat. "Why would you want that?"

The Lion blushed. "You try being scared of the squirrels," he said sheepishly.

They waited anxiously for the guard to return. Boq had started pacing, and it was making Fiyero very nervous. At one point, he went over and tried the doors, but they were locked. A team of bulls couldn't have budged them.

It felt like it had taken years, but eventually the guard appeared again. He didn't hide his anger either.

"The Wizard says go away!" He turned on his heel and marched back through the doors, slamming them on the way in.

Dorothy just stared at where the guard had been standing with her jaw dropped slightly in shock. The Lion and Boq also had looks of amazement on their faces. Fiyero hadn't really expected much more, he realized. The Wizard rarely conversed with anyone who hadn't made preparations months in advance. He did that so that maybe people would get frustrated and forget the whole process. The fewer people the Wizard saw, the better.

Dorothy buckled slowly to the ground, still looking at the doors. Toto barked and tried to lick her face. She ignored him.

The Lion was the first to start crying. And once he started, Dorothy and Boq followed suite. The Lion's nose ran down his face as he snuffled into his tail, and Boq kept having to wipe his tears away to stop himself from rusting. Dorothy just wept quietly, watching her tears splash onto the green cobblestones.

Fiyero shifted his weight off the wall he'd been leaning against and landed beside Dorothy. She wrapped her arms around him, neither one of them saying anything. There was nothing to say.

"I was so ready to go home," Dorothy sobbed. "Everyone's probably stopped looking for me by now. Oh, I want to go home!"

Out of the corner of his eye, Fiyero saw the guard peeping through a small door in the wall. Soothingly, he rocked Dorothy back and forth, still watching the guard intently.

"Auntie Em, the professor said she was sick. She might die, and it's all my fault!"

Fiyero could now see that the guard was bawling pitifully into his moustache. Fiyero hid a smile. What idiot had put this sop on guard duty?

Dorothy looked around as she heard the guard howling. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"Please," sniffed the guard. "Stop crying! I'll get you into the Wizard somehow, just please . . ." He howled into a green handkerchief and opened the doors.

Dorothy linked arms with Boq and Fiyero, and the Lion fastened himself onto Boq's arm. Dorothy looked determinedly at the open doors, and guided them in to see the Wizard.

------------------------

Fiyero couldn't stop shaking. He had thought that he was going to die. When he had tried to calm the Lion, he had really been trying to settle down himself. He had acted cool, but had wanted to jump out the window more than the idiotic cat had.

But the Wizard hadn't recognized him!

Miraculously, Fiyero had been called forward as merely "Scarecrow." He had been told that he wanted a brain, and he had agreed. The Wizard's informants were getting sloppy. For that, he was very grateful now.

But the foolish Wizard had barely even listened to Dorothy. He valued his own safety too much. He'd sent them to go and murder Elphaba. As if it wasn't bad enough that he wanted her dead, but that he wanted a little girl to kill anyone at all! And it was only because he was too much of a coward to do it himself. He hadn't even outright told them to do it. He had simply said that he wanted her flying broomstick. He probably had some conniving scheme up his sleeve to cover up his wishes in case his plan didn't turn out the way he wanted.

And now, Fiyero was sitting and watching Boq, who stood on a platform raising public outrage. It was amazing, how much Boq hated Elphaba. Why couldn't he accept the fact that he would've died if she hadn't intervened in his life?

Fiyero caved into himself slightly as a crow, of all things, landed gaudily on his shoulder. He brushed at it unenthusiastically. It cawed into his ear, jumbling his thoughts. Shifting his weight, it lost it's balance and flew off. It's talons dug into his shoulder, carrying away a few threads.

He was amazed as doubt filled his body. Would it have been better to die than to have been transfigured into an . . . an object? Perhaps Boq was right. Fiyero wanted to kill himself for thinking it, but maybe Elphaba should have just left him alone. She always seemed to make things worse.

And as these speculations coursed through his mind, he sank down into a heap of fabric and straw, and wept dry tears until his three companions found him.

------------------------

Fiyero's mind had left his body, really. He barely noticed where he was at all. He just leaned on the Lion and let himself be carried wherever. He didn't say a word, and it seemed to worry Dorothy.

Of course, she might have just been worried at seeing the wood that surrounded the Winkie castle. With no one but Elphaba living there for a while, it had fallen into a total mess. The trees twined around each other eerily, and every time a bird flitted by, the Lion would jump, usually dropping Fiyero.

After the tenth time they helped Fiyero up (after a small, white rabbit hopped across the road in front of the Lion), Boq offered to take him. The Lion mumbled an apology and passed Fiyero over to the tin man.

They fell behind Dorothy and the cat after a while. Fiyero fell into a trance listening to Boq's steps. The rhythmic clanking tuned out all the other noises of the forest.

Boq stared at the road, turning his silver ax around in his hands. His grey eyes were full of condensed, penetrating loathing. He looked in disgust as a black snake slithered through the dead leaves beside them.

"Isn't this your castle?" he asked as he kicked a dead branch out of his way.

Fiyero came out of his stupor enough to grunt something resembling "Yes."

Boq flinched as he stepped on a skull from some animal and it crunched under his foot. "Then why in Oz is Elphaba living here?"

Fiyero couldn't think of a decent answer to that, so he remained silent.

"You didn't let her, did you? Even you wouldn't be that dim-witted to do something like that."

Fiyero was so out of it that he actually chuckled. "What if I did?"

Boq hacked some bushes out of their way. "I can't believe you. You're even dumber than I thought."

"Yup." Fiyero laughed again.

"Why would you ever give her a castle? That's just what she needed, isn't it. It totally completes the cliche picture of the wicked witch."

Fiyero grinned mistily. "Because I love her."

Boq stopped walking. "You what?!"

Fiyero laughed again.

"You mean," whispered Boq. "That you don't love Glinda?" He stared disbelievingly up at Fiyero.

Fiyero shook his head. "No," he chortled. "No, I never loved her. You can have her, if you want. I advise against it though. The publicity is unbearable."

Boq appeared confused. "But, I mean, why? Everyone knows that you two were in love."

"Oh, I have no doubt that Glinda thought she loved me." said Fiyero. "But she really only loved the image it projected. That's really all Glinda is, you know. A pretty illusion." He smiled. "Elphaba was never an illusion. She's always been real."

"Except that she turned you into a scarecrow."

Fiyero winced, and Boq grinned.

"Of course, wouldn't ever want to bring petty things like that to your attention. I apologize," he said sarcastically.

"Well," said Fiyero angrily. "What about her sister, Nessarose? How many years did you lie to her just to save your own skin? And in the end, you lost it anyway." He tapped Boq, making a faint clink. Now it was Boq's turn to flinch.

"And now she's dead. Who knows, maybe if you were still there, she would still be alive." Fiyero was being ruthless, but he had to make this fellow realize the obvious.

Boq's body shook wildly as he fought to hold back tears.

"Now, don't cry," said Fiyero. "You'll rust yourself, won't you tin can?"

Boq predictably burst into tears. He fell to the ground, pulling Fiyero down with him. He dropped his ax on the ground with a clatter. "Oh my god, Nessa, Nessa . . ." he mumbled between racking sobs. He buried his face in his hands, weeping uncontrollably. He knew that he would rust himself, but there was nothing he could do to stop the flow of tears.

Fiyero just sat there and watched him. Trying to comfort him would be the wrong thing to do.

Boq gasped, trying to catch his breath. He used a leaf to wipe his tears and looked down at Fiyero. "What's wrong with me?" he sobbed. "I shouldn't care that she died. I should be happy that I'm free now! Why am I doing this?!"

Fiyero didn't say anything.

Boq rocked back and forth. "Nessa," he breathed. "I'm sorry. I know it doesn't mean anything, but I'm so sorry now."

Up ahead, Nessa's jeweled shoes that Dorothy wore caught a beam of moonlight. They reflected the light off in a million directions, glittering in every color imaginable. Boq raised a hand to shield his eyes from the dazzling light. Dorothy and the Lion didn't seem to notice.

As the light ebbed away, Fiyero turned to Boq. "I think you're forgiven."

------------------------

Dorothy screamed.

Boq pulled Fiyero up and they sprinted over to her. She was staring in terror up at the sky. Millions of fast moving black shapes filled the horizon. And they were getting bigger.

"What are they?" Dorothy clutched Toto to her.

Fiyero squinted in the faint moonlight, trying to make out the shapes. He heard screeching off in the distance.

"Monkeys."

Dorothy raised an eyebrow. "Flying?"

Fiyero nodded. "The worst kind. What are they doing?"

Without warning, two leathery hands grabbed his shoulders from behind him and lifted him into the air. He twisted around in the thing's grip to see it's wrinkly face look down at him in disgust. It shrieked loudly, and dropped him in a tree. Dorothy and Boq shouted, but were soon occupied with fending off the monkeys.

Fiyero tried to drop out of the tree, but his arm was caught on a branch, and the strings of his shirt were unraveling fast. He ripped his arm off of the branch, tearing out a great portion of his shirt, and fell out of the tree's branches. He grunted as he hit the ground with a soft thump.

Suddenly, a dozen monkeys flew at him, screeching and flapping their huge wings noisily. Fiyero threw up his arms to try and shield himself. It was no use though, they all rammed into him. If Fiyero could feel anything, it would have been extremely painful.

They all grabbed his arms and legs and began pulling in opposite directions. Fiyero struggled, but he was just a rag doll against these powerful creatures.

Fiyero winced as he heard ripping sounds. He shut his eyes to try and block out what was happening. He could still hear the monkeys though, and the sound of ripping cloth. He opened his eyes a slit to see straw raining down around him. He tried to stand up, but there wasn't anything left of him to stand up. He felt nauseous as he saw the empty, green shirt laying on the ground in front of him. The monkeys shrieked joyously as they threw straw up in the air.

Fiyero heard Dorothy scream. He craned his head to see two flying monkeys carrying her off in the direction of the castle. She kicked furiously at them, but she seemed worried that they might drop her. They were awfully high up.

The monkeys around Fiyero dropped their handfuls of straw and leapt into the sky to follow the ones who had Dorothy.

Fiyero tried to move anything, anything at all. But he was totally stuck.

Totally helpless.

He waited for Boq and the Lion to come and help him, if they were still alive. But there was nothing else that he could do.

He hated himself for that.

------------------------

Fiyero couldn't hide his discomfort as Boq and the Lion put him back together. It felt very personal for some reason. He didn't have another option though. It was this or lie there on the moist ground for the rest of eternity.

Once most of him was assembled, Fiyero told them that he could take it from there so would they please go away. He was stuffing the last bit of straw into his leg when he heard a high pitched barking somewhere off. The three of them looked up to see Toto's little black shape scurrying towards them.

The Lion and Boq ran over to the dog, leaving Fiyero to limp after them. Toto barked again and took off up the side of the rocky hill next to the castle. Boq and the Lion, with staggering Fiyero trailing behind, rushed after the dog.

Fiyero grinned to himself. Toto had been spending a lot of time around the Lion, and seemed to have picked up some Intelligent Animal traits. He couldn't talk, but he wasn't a regular dumb dog anymore. Of course, Fiyero had already known that this was the path up to the castle, but the dog was doing a good job of remembering where to go.

They finally reached the huge doors into the castle, with the panting Lion actually falling behind Fiyero. The Lion spotted the Winkie guards surrounding the castle, and collapsed behind a boulder, whimpering. Boq peered over a dead tree branch, and Fiyero could see his lips move as he counted the soldiers. He gulped and turned to Fiyero.

"Can't you, well, do something about them? Like order them away?"

Fiyero shook his head. "You actually think they'd recognize me?"

Boq sighed. He glanced down indignantly at the Lion, who was looking up behind Boq and Fiyero with his eyes wide in panic. "What's wrong with you?" Boq asked him, exasperated.

The Lion stuttered something and pointed up at something.

Boq and Fiyero turned around to see three Winkie soldiers grinning at them menacingly.

The Lion screamed. It was amazing how high pitched the giant beast could sound.

------------------------

Fiyero could barely keep himself from laughing.

They were disguised as his own soldiers, sneaking into his own castle. And they looked nothing at all like the Winkie warriors.

Take the Lion, who was marching in front of Fiyero, for instance. One could burst out laughing just looking at him. His hat was at an angle, with one huge furry ear sticking out, and his tail was waving around behind him like a snake, threatening to trip up Fiyero.

Luckily, it was late, and the guards were tired and oblivious to the intruders, even the cat. They just marched down the dark corridors with ghostly precision, while their minds turned to their awaiting hot dinners and warm, soft beds.

Toto turned down a hallway, and the three of them followed him through a spiraling maze of twisting halls. Even Fiyero was lost soon. They began to worry that maybe Toto didn't know where he was going, and that maybe they were just following a stupid animal on an aimless run around the castle.

Eventually though, Toto sprinted through a doorway and ran up a flight of stairs on the opposite end of the hall. He stopped at the top, next to a thick, oak door, and barked down at the threesome. Fiyero could hear the sound of someone crying behind the door.

"Dorothy!" yelled the Lion. He and Boq rushed up the stairs, and yanked on the door. It was locked. No surprise. Boq pulled out his ax, which he had hidden in his uniform, and started hacking at the door.

Fiyero hastily ripped off the guard's jacket and hat. He could barely move as it was, and he couldn't afford to have those things weighing him down. Up the stairs, he could see the Lion doing the same, with Boq still chopping madly at the door.

Fiyero was about to run up after them when he heard crying behind him. Not the muffled weeping of Dorothy behind the door, but someone else, who was in the room behind him. He walked quietly to the door and peered inside.

There she was. Sitting on the floor with her back to the door, her black, pointed hat thrown carelessly on the ground behind her. Her face was buried in her long, green fingers, sobs shaking her whole body.

"Glinda, I'm so sorry . . ." Elphaba murmured through her tears, over and over. ". . . I'm so, so sorry . . ."

Fiyero stepped behind her and closed his eyes, breathing in the scent of the old castle, and the aroma of magic that lingered on Elphaba. It felt amazing just to be there, with her.

Abruptly, she stopped crying and snapped her head around to glower up at him. "What are you doing here?" she hissed. "How did you get in here? Chistery took care of you!" Sparks flew along her hands as she glared at him icily.

Fiyero grabbed her arm just as she was about to drive her burning hand into him. She tried to jerk it away, but Fiyero just held onto her. "What do you want?" she asked, another sob escaping her.

Fiyero looked into her dark eyes, glassy from tears. They were beautiful. Beautiful and tragic at the same time.

"Elphie," he breathed.

She peered up at him, curious. "Have we met?"

Fiyero didn't say anything. He just sat down beside her and rubbed his fingers along her wrist.

The flames dwindled away and her arm went limp as realization rippled through her. "Oh my god. What have I done to you?"

She reached up her other hand to touch his face, to reassure herself that he was really there. "How's this possible? " she said in a barely audible whisper. "You were dead."

Fiyero shrugged. He just sat there, clasping her hand. She began to say something else, but Fiyero jumped when he heard the door that was trapping Dorothy fall back off it's hinges.

Elphaba sighed. "They're getting away."

"Are you going to go after them?"

She shook her head. "I knew that they would. Now go and help your friends." She smiled dismally. "Just be careful. There are so many secret passages in here."

She picked up her hat, and disappeared down the corridor.

------------------------

Fiyero led Dorothy, Boq, and the Lion through the tangled chaos of halls and staircases. Dorothy clung to his hand, obviously frightened out of her wits.

And it was no surprise. Every time they turned a corner, a group of soldiers would be at the other end of the room, pointing their spears at them. The Lion was whining loudly and making it very difficult for Fiyero to think.

He took a hard left into another hallway, but there were guards racing towards them from there. They whirled around to get away, but another group of guards were running over to them from the other side as well. They were stuck.

The four of them backed into a corner, bumping into a table behind them and almost knocking over a bucket of water that rested on it. The Winkie soldiers bared their teeth at them.

The group of soldiers parted to let Elphaba through, her broom held tightly in her right hand. Dorothy huddled close to Fiyero.

Elphaba looked menacingly down at the little girl. "You'll be the last to go, so that you can see all the others go before you." She smiled, but there was an awful pain behind her eyes.

She reached her broom up to the candle chandelier above her, igniting the brush end. Bringing it down slowly, she waved it in front of Fiyero's face. "How about a little fire, Scarecrow?" Fiyero could see tears building in her eyes. Before he knew what had happened, she thrust the flaming broom into his arm.

Dorothy gave a shrill scream. Reaching around behind her, she grabbed the bucket that was on the table, and threw its contents at Fiyero to try and put out the flames.

Fiyero was the only one who saw that Elphaba close her eyes and deliberately step in front of the fountain of water.

Dorothy gasped and dropped the bucket when she saw Elphaba begin the grow shorter and shorter. Her long black dress gathered in a pool on the ground as she wailed into her arms.

"She's melting," said Boq disbelievingly.

Fiyero then remembered a rumor he had heard a while back: _". . . her soul is so unclean, pure water can melt her!"_ It had been a ridiculous idea at the time.

But now, here it was. She was sinking down into a black puddle on the tiled floor. The guards were staring with open mouths as she shrieked in pain.

Dorothy backed into the table and braced herself against it, not sure what was happening. She didn't know whether to celebrate or to try and help Elphaba, so she stood there gaping.

All Fiyero wanted to do was to fall on the floor and hold her in his arms. He needed her to stop screaming, he needed to save her somehow. He just wanted to sweep her up off her feet and carry her away where they could be together and far, far away from this place.

But Elphaba's feet had long since dissolved into the floor, and if Fiyero tried to pick her up, he would probably fall over.

The only thing he could do was look on as Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, faded into nothing but a pile of black clothing with a pointy black hat lying atop.

It wasn't his decision to make. She had chosen this.

------------------------

Fiyero examined the roll of paper that the Wizard had given him. A degree. How kind of him.

He tossed it into the first trash can he found.

Dorothy had discovered that the Wizard was a fraud faster than most people, which was good. It was probably the only way that she would be able to go home. The Wizard would want to get her out of Oz as soon as possible, in case she started to spread rumors about him being a fake. That wouldn't be good for publicity.

Fiyero stopped walking when he heard voices back in the Wizard's throne room. He doubled back and tried to hear who was in there.

The high-pitched squeal of a furious Glinda floated to his ears. The Wizard's quiet, nervous tone tried to argue with her, but it sounded like nothing could stop Glinda now.

Fiyero grinned. Things in Oz were going to get much better.

------------------------

Fiyero couldn't help but laugh as the Wizard's balloon floated away. It was very funny how he couldn't figure out how to come down.

He stopped laughing when he saw Dorothy crying. She grasped Toto close to her body as she tried to stop her sobs, but she couldn't possibly block the flow of tears.

There had been too many times when she had thought that she would be going home, but hadn't. Too many times that she'd had her hopes brought up, assured that everything was going to be alright, but hadn't. She couldn't take anymore.

Fiyero bundled her up into his arms, trying to quiet her. She sobbed into his shoulder and tried to say something, but Fiyero hushed her. Boq and the Lion looked on sadly.

Toto barked, and Dorothy pulled herself away to see what was bothering him. He was looking up at the sky and yapping repeatedly at something up there.

The crowd that had gathered fell silent as Glinda's pink bubble drifted over their heads. She materialized at the top of a green stairway, smiling down at them all.

As she started down towards Dorothy, Fiyero couldn't find what was different about her. She looked exactly the same, but there was something there that he couldn't pinpoint. It was something about her smile. It looked more real, less pasted on than usual.

She held an immense book under one arm. It looked like Elphaba's magic book. Looking at it would have brought tears to Fiyero's eyes if he could cry.

Glinda reached Dorothy, who stepped away from Fiyero and looked respectively up at the Good Witch.

Glinda smiled down at the little girl. "Are you ready to go home?"

A tear slid down Dorothy's face. "I've been ready for so long."

Glinda laughed lightly, and it was a real laugh, not the painful faked ones people were used to hearing from her. "Why my dear, you've had the power to go home the whole time!"

Dorothy looked up at her, confused. "What?"

"Had you forgotten?" asked Glinda, "That you're wearing the Witch of the East's slippers?"

Fiyero noticed that she left out the "Wicked" part of Ness's title.

Dorothy gasped and looked down at her feet. "Of course!" She looked back up at Glinda. "But, how do I get home with them? And if you knew that I could, why didn't you just tell me back in Munchkinland instead of sending me to see the Wizard?"

"You had to figure it out for yourself," said Glinda. "Now, are you ready?"

"Yes. Just let me say goodbye first," Dorothy said, barely believing what she heard. Glinda nodded, and Dorothy walked over to the Boq, the Lion, and Fiyero.

She laughed sadly as she saw Boq crying. "Don't cry," she said through sobs. "You'll rust yourself." Boq gave her a small smile. He would never admit it, but he loved this little girl.

By the time she stood in front of the Lion, the huge creature was bawling. Dorothy tried to comfort him, but she was crying almost as bad as he was anyway.

Dorothy turned to Fiyero, and they stood there looking at each other for a moment. She embraced him, and he held her tight to him, his eyes closed.

She reached up and kissed him lightly on his cheek. "I think I'll miss you the most," she whispered through her tears. Fiyero gave her one last squeeze, and then let her go.

Dorothy wiped her tears on a handkerchief and turned to Glinda. "I'm ready," she said falteringly.

Glinda looked warmly down at the little girl. "Then close your eyes, and think . . ." she walked around behind Dorothy, her high heeled shoes clicking on the green, glass floor. "Think to yourself, 'There's no place like home.'"

Dorothy's eyelids fluttered shut and she pulled Toto a little tighter into her arms. Glinda's eyes also closed as she lifted her glimmering wand next to Dorothy's face, her lips moving in what might have been a chant.

Boq gasped as Dorothy began to disappear. Neither her's nor Glinda's eyes opened, and Dorothy and Toto didn't seem to notice at all. In a matter of seconds, the girl and the dog were gone, and all that was left were the empty, sparkling shoes.

Glinda slowly opened her eyes and looked at where Dorothy had been. A faint smile touched her eyes, but she seemed exhausted.

The crowd was gaping up at Glinda. They all knew that Glinda could do magic, everyone knew that. That didn't mean that they actually _believed_ that she could because they'd never _seen_ her do any . . .

Glinda frowned down at them. "What?" she said. "The shoes already had magic in them. I just sort of . . . helped it along." They looked at her for a moment more, and then, seeing that the show was over, filed out of the doors to the back.

The Lion sat down heavily on the floor, still weeping uncontrollably. Boq kneeled down and picked up the shoes that had been left behind. Standing up, he looked at Glinda. "May I have these? They remind me of someone I used to love."

Glinda looked puzzled, but nodded. Boq smiled slightly in thanks and walked out of the room, holding the shoes close.

The Lion stood up shakily. "I guess I'd better be going too," he said, trembling. "It's getting late, and I want to get back to the forest before nightfall."

Fiyero nodded in agreement.

The giant cat looked down at him. "Yeah. Well, goodbye."

And he left too, leaving Fiyero alone.

------------------------

Fiyero walked out of the Emerald City until he was on the border of Macabril Forest. He sat down with his back against a tree and sighed.

What would he do now? He could go back to the cornfield, but that didn't sound like a very good answer. He could go see Glinda, but there was no telling how she would react to everything that happened.

For now, he was fine with sitting here and thinking about Elphaba.

She was gone. And nobody but him seemed to care. Glinda was probably mourning, but she would cover it up, hide it, so that no one would know.

Fiyero closed his eyes and tried to remember that last time he'd seen her. Not when she had actually been liquefying, but before that, when they had been sitting in the castle together. When she had finally discovered that he hadn't died, and when he had thought that maybe, just maybe, everything would be alright.

He grinned to himself when he thought of her right before she had disappeared. She had stood up, with her hat tilted on her head in an almost cocky manner, a both sad and playful smile on her face. A few tears still gathered under her eyes. And then she left . . .

Fiyero's eyes snapped open. What had she said before she left? He racked his mind as he tried to recall it. _"Just be careful. There are so many secret passages in here." _

He grabbed one of the branches on the tree and used it to pull himself up. It couldn't be true. It wasn't possible. But he just had to check. He had to know.

He raced towards Elphaba's castle as fast as his straw-stuffed legs would carry him.

------------------------

Left, right, up these stairs, right, right again. Fiyero ran down the hallways of he castle, trying to find the room with the table and the bucket. There were too many rooms though, it would take him forever to find the room. And it might all be for nothing anyway.

As he sprinted up a flight of stairs, he saw a tapestry with an elephant on it hanging on the wall. Yes, that looked familiar! He hoped there weren't multiple elephant tapestries throughout the castle. There couldn't be, though. This had to be the right way.

He turned down another corridor until he reached the end, and turned sharply to the left. This was it! He dashed across the room, falling down and sliding most of the way.

There was the bucket, sitting on its side over by the wall, and the chandelier, the candles all gone out.

And there was her hat, sitting in the middle of the floor, abandoned and forgotten. Fiyero picked it up and held it for a moment, looking at it. He probably had come all the way here for nothing. But he had to know.

The black, stone tile that the hat had been resting on looked exactly the same as all of the others, except that part of it had been cracked by one edge. Fiyero dug his fingers into it and yes, it budged a little. He gritted his teeth and managed to lift the giant piece of stone out of the floor.

And as he looked down into the dark hole and saw Elphaba's smiling face looking up at him, and he clasped her hand and pulled her out, all doubts that he'd had dissolved away. She'd saved his life so that they could be together.

And as she pressed her lips to his, both of them laughing from joy, he thought, that no matter how strange it was, they had finally gotten their happy ending.


End file.
